Borealis’ Daplen™ and Borcom™ deliver quality for Peugeot 308 interior

Borealis, a leading provider of innovative value-creating plastics solutions, has worked with two key Tier One suppliers Faurecia and Valeo and OEM PSA Peugeot Citroën to contribute to the prestigious style and finish of the acclaimed Peugeot 308 interior.

For the development of the injection moulded dashboard, Faurecia selected Daplen™ EE188AI high performance polypropylene (PP) compound, and Valeo used Borcom™ BG055AI, an innovative PP micro-composite for the development of the climate control housing.

According to Peugeot, the car’s interior sets new standards in design, exceeding its aesthetic function. Its fluid and elegant form, coupled with the use of high quality materials - both to look at and to touch - creates an impression of quality seldom encountered in models in this market segment.

When considering the dashboard, Peugeot demanded that the user be given the impression of high surface quality, something which is conveyed not only at the time of purchase, but over the lifetime of the car. This requires a material that, in particular, is highly resistant to scratching. For the production of the dashboards at its facility in St. Michel, France, Faurecia needed a material with excellent flow characteristics and a broad processing window.

”It was our challenge to combine the mechanical criteria together with the required surface aesthetics and scratch resistance in one material,” explains Franz Zängerl, Manager Business Development Automotive at Borealis.

“Borealis’ Daplen EE188AI, a PP compound containing 15 percent mineral filler, met all the criteria as laid down by both Peugeot and Faurecia. Daplen grades for automotive interiors are well-known, not only for their excellent scratch resistance, but also for their low density, good surface feel, excellent mechanical properties, low emissions and fogging.”

Another set of criteria applied to the climate control housing, which is not visible to the user. Peugeot was looking for an alternative to the 20 percent talc filled PP used on the 307 model, able to deliver the same or better performance at a lower weight, thus contributing to improved fuel efficiency. Valeo, who produces the climate control housing in Rakovnik, Czech Republic, selected Borcom BG055AI from Borealis. Compared with competing materials, this grade has improved flow and is also characterized by isotrop shrinkage.

Borcom is the Borealis trade name for high performance micro-composites. These are PP compounds containing up to 10 percent selected micro-scale filler. Borcom BG055AI has a relative density of 0.92, compared with 1.04 for talc-filled PP, and yet has notably higher impact resistance and comparable stiffness.

Borcom BG055AI provides excellent processability, better weld-line strength, lower emissions, fogging and odour, and yields an important overall weight and system cost reduction. Cycle time reductions of up to 20 percent are possible.